Books of the Bible in Order: All 66 Books Listed by Section

By Adam O'Brien, Founder of Deily · October 2026 · ~8 min read

The Bible is not one book — it's a library of sixty-six books written across more than a thousand years, arranged in a deliberate order. Knowing that order unlocks both how to read it and how the story fits together. This page lists every book of the Protestant Bible in order, grouped by its section, with a one-line summary of each. It also notes where Catholic and Orthodox Bibles differ.

How the Bible is organized

The Old Testament (39 books) is grouped into five sections: the Law (also called the Pentateuch or the Torah), History, Wisdom and Poetry, the Major Prophets, and the Minor Prophets. The New Testament (27 books) opens with the four Gospels, then History (Acts), the Epistles (letters — Paul's first, then the general letters), and finally the one Apocalyptic book, Revelation.

Worth flagging up front: the order of the books is thematic, not strictly chronological. The book of Job, for example, is likely set in the patriarchal era even though it sits after Esther. And the twelve Minor Prophets span several centuries even though they're printed together.

Old Testament (39 books)

The Law (Pentateuch) — 5 books

1. Genesis — Creation, the Fall, the Flood, and the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
2. Exodus — God delivers Israel from slavery in Egypt through Moses and gives the Law at Sinai.
3. Leviticus — The holiness code: sacrifice, priesthood, purity, and the Day of Atonement.
4. Numbers — Israel's forty years of wandering in the wilderness between Sinai and the Promised Land.
5. Deuteronomy — Moses's farewell sermons restating the Law before Israel enters the land.

History — 12 books

6. Joshua — Israel conquers and divides the Promised Land under Joshua.
7. Judges — Cycles of apostasy, oppression, and deliverance through judges like Deborah, Gideon, and Samson.
8. Ruth — A Moabite widow's loyalty leads her into the family line of David — and of Jesus.
9. 1 Samuel — The rise of Samuel, the reign of Saul, and David's emergence.
10. 2 Samuel — David's reign over Israel — his triumphs, his sin with Bathsheba, and the fallout.
11. 1 Kings — Solomon's glory, the building of the Temple, and the kingdom splitting in two.
12. 2 Kings — The decline of both kingdoms, ending in the fall of Samaria (722 BC) and Jerusalem (586 BC).
13. 1 Chronicles — Israel's story retold from Adam through David, focused on the Temple and worship.
14. 2 Chronicles — Solomon through the Exile, tracing Judah's kings and their faithfulness or failure.
15. Ezra — The first exiles return and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
16. Nehemiah — The walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt and the covenant is renewed.
17. Esther — God preserves the Jewish people in Persia through Queen Esther and Mordecai.

Wisdom and Poetry — 5 books

18. Job — A blameless man suffers terribly; the book wrestles with why the righteous suffer.
19. Psalms — 150 songs and prayers of Israel — praise, lament, thanksgiving, and royal psalms, many by David.
20. Proverbs — Wisdom sayings, mostly of Solomon, on work, speech, money, family, and the fear of the Lord.
21. Ecclesiastes — "The Teacher" examines everything under the sun and finds it all vanity apart from God.
22. Song of Solomon — A poem celebrating covenant love between a bride and her beloved.

Major Prophets — 5 books

23. Isaiah — Judgment and hope for Judah, with the deepest prophecies of the coming Servant-Messiah.
24. Jeremiah — The weeping prophet warns Jerusalem of coming destruction and promises a new covenant.
25. Lamentations — Five poems of grief over the ruins of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
26. Ezekiel — Visions of God's glory and the future restoration, given to the exiles in Babylon.
27. Daniel — Daniel and his friends in Babylon; the lions' den, the fiery furnace, and apocalyptic visions.

Minor Prophets — 12 books

28. Hosea — A prophet commanded to marry an unfaithful wife, picturing God's love for unfaithful Israel.
29. Joel — A locust plague becomes a call to repentance and a promise of the Spirit poured out.
30. Amos — A shepherd-prophet confronts Israel's injustice: "Let justice roll down like waters."
31. Obadiah — Judgment on Edom for exploiting Jerusalem's fall.
32. Jonah — A runaway prophet, a great fish, and God's mercy on Nineveh.
33. Micah — Judgment and hope; foretells the Messiah's birth in Bethlehem.
34. Nahum — The coming fall of Nineveh, the very city Jonah's generation saw repent.
35. Habakkuk — A prophet's honest questions to God end in trust: "The righteous shall live by faith."
36. Zephaniah — The Day of the Lord is near — judgment, then a remnant restored.
37. Haggai — A call to the returned exiles to finish rebuilding the Temple.
38. Zechariah — Visions of restoration and of the coming King riding on a donkey.
39. Malachi — God's last word before four hundred silent years: a messenger will come before the Lord.

New Testament (27 books)

The Gospels — 4 books

40. Matthew — Jesus as the promised Messiah and King, written with a Jewish audience in view.
41. Mark — The shortest, fastest Gospel — Jesus the suffering Servant, in action.
42. Luke — A careful, investigated account of Jesus, who seeks and saves the lost.
43. John — Jesus as the eternal Word made flesh, "that you may believe."

History — 1 book

44. Acts — The risen Jesus sends the Spirit; the church is born and spreads from Jerusalem to Rome.

Paul's Epistles — 13 books

45. Romans — The gospel explained most fully: justification by faith, grace, and life in the Spirit.
46. 1 Corinthians — Correction for a divided church — on unity, morality, worship, and the resurrection.
47. 2 Corinthians — Paul defends his ministry and boasts in weakness, where Christ's power rests.
48. Galatians — Freedom in Christ: no one is justified by works of the law.
49. Ephesians — Every spiritual blessing in Christ; unity of Jew and Gentile in one new body.
50. Philippians — Joy from prison; the hymn of Christ's humility and exaltation.
51. Colossians — Christ is supreme over all creation and sufficient for everything.
52. 1 Thessalonians — Encouragement to a young church and hope in Christ's return.
53. 2 Thessalonians — Steadiness amid persecution and clarity about the Day of the Lord.
54. 1 Timothy — Instructions for guarding the gospel and ordering the church.
55. 2 Timothy — Paul's final letter: "Preach the word; I have finished the race."
56. Titus — Appointing elders and training a church in good works on Crete.
57. Philemon — Paul pleads for a runaway slave to be received back as a brother.

General Epistles — 8 books

58. Hebrews — Jesus is better than everything He fulfills — the prophets, angels, Moses, the priests, the sacrifices.
59. James — Faith that works: wisdom, the tongue, and care for the poor.
60. 1 Peter — Hope for exiles suffering for Christ, anchored in the living hope of the resurrection.
61. 2 Peter — Grow in grace; beware false teachers; the Day of the Lord will come.
62. 1 John — God is light and love; assurance for those who believe in the Son.
63. 2 John — Walk in truth and love; do not welcome deceivers.
64. 3 John — Hospitality, imitation of good, and a warning against a domineering leader.
65. Jude — Contend for the faith against those who distort grace.

Apocalyptic — 1 book

66. Revelation — John's vision of the risen Christ, the final defeat of evil, and the new heavens and new earth.

Quick count by section

What about Catholic and Orthodox Bibles?

If you compare a Catholic Bible to a Protestant one, you'll notice extra books in the Old Testament. Catholic editions include seven additional books — Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabees — plus longer versions of Esther and Daniel. Orthodox Bibles include those and a few more (such as 3 Maccabees and Psalm 151). These are often called the deuterocanonical books ("second canon") by Catholics, and the Apocrypha by Protestants, who hold that the 39-book Hebrew canon is the Old Testament. The 27 books of the New Testament are the same across Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Bibles.

Next: The Bible Timeline: Major Events in Order — the story behind the list, from Creation to Revelation.